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TESTAMENT Interviewed On 107.7 THE BONE’s ‘Metal Zone’ (Video)

On July 27, “Metal Zone” host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone conducted an interview with vocalist Chuck Billy and guitarist Alex Skolnick of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. You can now watch the chat below.

TESTAMENT‘s new album, “Dark Roots Of Earth”, is likely to sell between 15,000 and 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on July 31 via Nuclear Blast Records.

TESTAMENT‘s previous studio CD, “The Formation of Damnation”, opened with 11,400 units back in May 2008 to debut at position No. 59 on The Billboard 200 chart.

“Dark Roots Of Earth” was produced, mixed and mastered by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE, ACCEPT, EXODUS). Special bonus tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER) at his Trident Studios. The cover artwork for the effort (see below) was painted by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR, among others.

The “Native Blood” video can be seen below.

TESTAMENT vocalist Chuck Billy collaborated with seasoned director Mike Sloat to put together a clip that is universal in message while bringing the spotlight to Billy‘s Native American heritage — The Pomo Indians.

The performance portion of the video was shot on the Billy Ranch in Hopland, California, where the flames were huge and the temperatures were high.

The “Native Blood” clip is about the growth a Native American youth throughout the years. When faced with hatred, racism, bullying, and harassment, he uses nature’s sanctuary to recharge and meditate on the lessons he learned from his grandfather to handle these very tough situations in a way to honor and dignify himself and his people.

Billy previously stated about “Native Blood”, “It’s almost like a protest song, that the Native Americans have a voice that needs to be heard — that’s the chorus of the song.”